From the Editor

Our biggest issue of the year has arrived. Welcome to the official Best Of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll. Your votes were cast during the first few months of the year and now the results are finally tallied. There were some surprise winners this year, especially in the category of Restaurant of the Year (although it’s one of your longtime favorites) and New Business.

Experience it all. Then, we continue our annual tradition by presenting our Critics’ Picks. Here GT’s editorial team reveals their local favorites as well as offering some constructive criticism on other issues—OK, we rant. Looking over the results, I’m reminded once again just how passionate locals are about their favorite people, places and things. One thing remains true: We are a unique community with talented individuals—in both the creative and business worlds—who strive to excel at what they do and give their best. And this week, it’s all on display. Thank you for casting your votes. Dive in …

And amazingly, at 160 pages, there is more to this week’s paper than all that is “best” in Santa Cruz. In News, take note of a local enterprise hoping to protect local surf areas and what that could mean for Santa Cruz. Also in News is an update on the recent financial issues plaguing the Santa Cruz Port District and how things have unraveled for some dredging workers that were recently let go. Music lovers will appreciate the arrival of local favorite Bassnectar, who hits the Civic on May 3. While the concert is sold out, you may be impressed by some of Bassnectar’s inner stirrings, which this week’s article on him points out. (Turn to page 116.)

There’s more in A&E. We look into UC Santa Cruz’s new dance-related outing, in which the talented David Herrera of the David Herrera Performance Company (DHPCo) suggests that death should be celebrated. There’s a great deal of creative life in that topic. In the meantime, there’s plenty more in between, so keep the issue close by this week, take your time and peruse the very best of Santa Cruz County.

More next time …

Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief

Chris Rene in the House Local favorite/X Factor alum Chris Rene (center, in white ball cap) pops in at the Zane Keith and Marissa Hushaw’s Grind Out Hunger Youth Service Day last week at Santa Cruz Skate & Surf Shop. (Another local, Tess Dunn, performed.) Rene rallied these youth hunger fighters together for a photo showing that, together, youth can make a big difference. The event raised 5,830 pounds of food. Learn more at grindouthunger.org and turn to page 97 to see which Grind Out Hunger champion nabbed your vote for Best Local Mover and Shaker.

Letters to the Editor

Let’s Not Play GamesThis is a response to the letter to the editor by David Brumfield, about the film Hunger Games. In his letter he says that writer Suzanne Collins and her story are “sick,” because it shows kids killing kids. What David has mistaken is that it is not simply kids killing kids; it’s the greater society that forces them to do it against their will, and everyone just supports and accepts it. This is a metaphor for the modern day, where we send young and naïve people to kill, and be killed by, young naive people in war after war. I’m glad David found it sick, which was obviously Suzanne Collins’ intention in writing this story. I hope the rest of the world finds it as deplorable as David [does] and follows through with the story’s intention to show us how sick it is to send young kids to fight, kill and die for corporately motivated wars and lying politicians. May not another young soul be a lamb for the slaughter. William GuilfoyleSanta Cruz

Best Online Comments

On ‘Family Student Housing’ …I was a resident at FSH and the affordable rent, Children’s Center, and community were all reasons I was able to get my degree as a single mother. There was a substansial rent increase in 1999, which I protested along with other residents. It’s hard to believe that the UCSC administration are at it again. There’s a history to it and I sincerely hope that with attention and pressure from current, past residents, and the community, a sustainable solution can be found. —Sonya Philip

On ‘Occupied’ …From the start, Occupy was set up as a “leaderless movement” and decisions were based on consensus support, ensuring that no particular faction would become dominant. These steps, among others, were a necessary catalyst to get leftists to work together to create the Occupy Movement. Here, a faction broke away from Occupy Santa Cruz (OSC) because an action such as 75 River Street could not receive consensus support. They assumed their actions could be separated from that of OSC, and wouldn’t reflect upon OSC itself if the action turned into a catastrophe. Of course, they were quite wrong. 75 River Street stole the public spotlight, and all the legitimate claims of OSC (including right to assembly and speech) were forgotten. —John Hernlund

On ‘Carl Reimer’ …We need help from the community. Carl was an amazing young man. So much courage and a natural leader. Santa Cruz and his family has lost a great person. I still think of him daily and pray I’ll see him again some day. —Greg Helgeson